The Memo Project

Let’s talk organization. The other night I caught part of a new reality tv show called “Extreme Couponing.” I found myself riveted, mouth hanging open, as I watched people obsess over planning their weekly shopping trip. 

While I only use coupons occasionally, have to say I was impressed by the organization of the people on this show. They spend countless hours finding, clipping and filing coupons into neat little notebooks. This seems like kind of a waste of time to me since I have neither the desire nor the space to store 40 tubs of cheese puffs or 90 Snickers bars (according to the show, junk food can be practically free if you buy in bulk and use coupons). If it was wine we were talking about, I might change my tune. 

However, all this got me thinking about my own coupon filing system. Right now, I just put them all in an envelope or stick them haphazardly to the fridge with a magnet. But how many times have I gotten to the store and realized I’d left my coupons at home, or that they had expired?  I knew there had to be a better way.

So “my little grey cells” got to work on the issue of coupon storage (Poirot, anyone?). I figured I’d need something that would catch my eye and sort the coupons out in some way to make them more useable. Finally, I decided to make a combination storage/chalkboard/memo device. I’m a big fan of those picture/memo holders with the curlicue clips, o I thought I’d use that as inspiration.:

I found some spare wood in the garage, then went to the craft store and bought chalkboard paint and some circular wire paper clips. (*Tip: I’ve found using the pots of chalkboard paint wastes less paint than the spray kind*) Using pliers, I unfurled the paper clips so they had a stem, then pushed the loops out a bit so they were more 3D, like this:

A little sawing, a little wood glue, a little paint and voila! The tiles are these beautiful little mosaic pieces, though it proved hard to capture their iridescence on camera.

I’m most excited about the labeling options the chalkboard provides. I can file things by category, expiration date, location...OH THE POSSIBILITIES!!

I put a magnet strip on the back so it can go on the fridge, but I could also add a leather strap or yarn loop to it so it can hang on the wall. I think it could also be useful as a family memo board. If you have a note to leave someone, just put it in their section, like this!

I’m pretty excited about my creation here. Now my life will not only be more organized, but a little bit snazzier as well. And what girl doesn’t need more of both those things??